A Helping Hand
by Hieda
Summary: A storm is brewing in the land of Gensokyo that could change their world forever. Time for someone new to step upon the scene. Armed with his mediocre wit and his head in the clouds it's up to him to restore to peace back to a troubled land. [On-Hold]
1. Chapter 1

_Chapter One: A Not so Fresh Start_

There's a lot of things one might find wrong about the current situation I seemed to have found myself in. It might be the fact that I'm currently having tea across from someone who shouldn't really exist in a world that could hardly be called earth. It could also be the fact that I've just been told some truly ridiculous things that would make anyone think twice about their current sanity. It may be the fact that despite these things, I was still here seriously considering the things said. More than anything though I think the most surprising thing was that all this was happening to me.

Let's forget the fantastical parts for a moment and focus on me as a person. Average college student with slightly above average grades. Average in looks, with somewhat typical shaggy black hair and a slight penchant for being well dressed. Normal hobbies, a few close friends, doesn't go out much and generally prefers a rather quiet life. The only atypical thing I could use to describe myself would be the fact that I'm more well read than most people but that hardly means much in the grand scheme of things.

So it's a seriously odd predicament for me, someone who most people would find completely mundane including myself, to be where I currently was.

"Have you finished considering what I've said?" The person across from me questioned, leveling a serious gaze at me that did nothing to help my current consternation.

It had perhaps been quite a few minutes since she had asked me that question and yet I found myself no closer to answering it. In fact my current thought process could be deemed escapism more than anything else. I had thought of every possible thing except the question, tried every possible thing to convince myself that no, I was obviously not here and this was all just a dream. I'm normal therefore there's no way something so abnormal could possibly be happening to me.

Yet here I was sitting across from someone so lodged in pure fantasy that I could hardly disbelieve the truth in her words. It was about time I gave up trying to reason my way out of something that could not be escaped and confront what was before me.

That was the reason I gathered my wits, definitely not because the frown that adorned her face and the twitch of her cap suggesting growing irritation. It was also definitely not because her knuckles that held her cup of tea were a pure white, the handle of the cup in its grip slowly cracking. The one thing it was definitely was not, was her eyes.

How would I even begin to describe them. Have you ever had someone stare into your eyes and really mean it and I mean really mean it. They captivate you in their gaze and make it impossible to look away, they pin you in place and force you to look back. Those golden orbs tearing apart all of my person, every move I made, every thought I had seemed to be dissected before me with no escape. They were however beautiful, the way they shone a faint amber in the setting sun positively glowing. The way she used them, like a sharp sword piercing, was no less beautiful.

And said increase in her glare brought me back from my daydreams and into reality. For my own health I should probably focus a bit more.

I coughed once into my hand.

"Let's say I believe everything you said and let's pretend for the sake of argument that I was capable of everything you ask," I pause here to let a bit of the tension bleed out of my shoulders and refocus my gaze in a show of confidence, "What do I stand to gain from all these machinations and plots that you seemed to have prepared for me?"

A palpable silence once again filled the air, the plain we dined upon bereft of wind or life to lend their music to the landscape. The silence a physical entity here seemed to drag every second into ten. It lay like a weight over us and smothered in a way that made even taking a breath a heavy task. And after an eternity but no longer than handful of moments she replied.

"Can you not do it for the simple sake of helping us?" She asked her voice quiet, the silence almost drowning out her words into nothingness.

I shook my head. I wish I was the kind of person who could simply do for the sake of others but alas I could not. The world would be a much kinder place if everyone could be moved for someone else but it was not. I would not.

She lowered her head biting her lower lip, her beautiful golden eyes downcast in contemplation.

"Then what would?" She choked out voice cracking under the pressure of the emotions behind them, whether it was anger or sadness I could only guess. Before I could respond to her question she quickly continued.

"If you can't do it just to help us then what! I've already nothing left to give you, if there was something I could do I would do it, if there was anything I could give I would give it! Please just tell me what you want. I can't keep this up any longer it's just too much!" She screamed out, raw unfiltered pain, hatred, sadness and a torrent of other less identifiable emotions tainting her words.

That was truly the crux of the matter I needed a reason, a purely selfish reason that meant something to me. I couldn't give everything up for people that I didn't know, I just couldn't imagine it. I had a life, a home, even a few people who cared about me. I needed something that was tangible, something that I could convince myself that this was an even trade and I think I found it. I might not be able to gather the motivation for some random people I didn't know. Couldn't trade my my whole life that I had cultivated for something so completely uncertain.

But now, I could do it for her. More accurately I could do it for me.

I may not be the nicest person in the world and even I couldn't be turned to action just because someone asked for help but there was something else. Something much darker I found there that drove me. It was the sheer intensity of the the need she had for my help. After all everyone in the world just wants to feel needed for some reason and this may be the first and last time in my life that it would be directed towards me, at least in such a large quantity.

That and admittedly it was hard not to find my old life quite boring compared to what was being proffered to me.

"I'll do it. I still can't fathom how you think I'm capable of this but I'll do it." I spoke softly putting my tea down with a soft click.

Her response was subtle but visible in the relaxation in her shoulders, her shallow breaths slowly fell into a slower rhythm and the slight hint of a smile tugging on her lips.

"Don't thank me yet though. I still haven't done anything, honestly I'm still not convinced I can. I mean have you seen me." I joked lightly, trying to lighten the mood.

"You can, trust me," she reached over and pulled a stack of papers out of a whole that seemed to construct itself from thin air beside her. "Yukari, the former caretaker, left a very specific set of instructions if anything was to happen to her."

She rummaged through the papers before sliding one across to me.

"That paper contains everything about you, your likes, your dislikes, hobbies, knowledge, even your relationships. Yukari left nothing to chance when it comes to things she cared about and she chose you out of millions of people. She trusted you to take her place and since I believe in her, I believe in you." She said seriously, her piercing eyes softening for just a moment.

"As kinda creepy as this all is," I wave the paper around in show after verifying its contents, "Why me? I don't think I have any particularly desirable skills or any form of leadership ability."

"That I can explain," the whole where the paper came from once again appeared in view, "you see Yukari had the ability to manipulate boundaries and before you ask yes it is as bullshit as it sounds. Out of everyone she found with capabilities to learn how to use her powers you were the most suitable."

"I guess that makes sense and just so we're clear it doesn't but for the sake of moving forward I'll pretend it does." I paused to think for a few moments, "but that still leaves the rest of what you want from me. Putting aside the whole super powers thing for a second how am I supposed to brink gensokyo back under control. I'm not exactly shy but I know nothing about the people who live here and even less about how to deal with them?"

"Of course I'm not just going to send you off to do it all on your own, I'll be with you every step in the way. In fact…" she trailed off before standing up. "Allow me to formally introduce myself."

She slid out from her chair before crossing the table to stand in front of me, proffering her hand.

Accepting her hand we walked away towards the edge of the plain arriving at the crest of a small hill. What awaited was an absolutely breathtaking sight.

The forests long and vast almost glowing in the setting sun. The mountains which stood tall among the landscape like a hand outstretched towards the sky. A garden of sunflowers so bright and dazzling it was hard to tear your eyes away. The gently rolling hills and lazy winding rivers interwoven among small villages painted a picture of serenity that seemed to be at odds with what was apparently boiling below its surface.

I felt a tug at my hand and turned to face my solemn looking partner. She took one last look at the land before speaking up.

"My name is Ran Yakumo, former shikigami of the gap youkai, the unusual animal, The scheming nine-tailed fox, and now," She gives me a determined look, "if you'll have me, I shall be your shikigami and together we'll bring peace back to Gensokyo."

I felt a weight unfamiliar but comfortable settle over me as I pondered all of what had been said.

"Sure, why not. In for a penny, in for a pound they say after all. I guess I'll reintroduce myself as well then. Lawrence Ferithen," I smiled and extended my hand, "You better make sure though, I don't like to brag but I'm pretty sure there's no one more useless than me in the whole world."

Ran smiled as she took my outstretched hand into both of hers. I felt a strange feeling, almost like a tugging on my core when my hand met hers but it faded as quickly as it came. The sensation left me feeling vaguely depleted but not unpleasantly so.

"You think you're useless, my former master used to sleep at least eighteen hours a day. I'd like to see you try to match her." She laughs, her voice light and of mirth a lovely contrast to the her previous mood. Perhaps this would be worth it after all if I get to experience things like this.

"So what's the first step to this whole boundary thing, do I go through a training montage, sit underneath a waterfall and contemplate the universe, maybe I need to go through some sort of life and death wilderness survival test?" I joked, though definitely hoping that was not the case.

Ran's smile only grew wider as she shook her head, "Nope in Yukari's own words she told me and I quote. Don't worry about I'm sure after he screws everything up at least a dozen times he'll figure it out."

"Greeeeat," I drawled sarcastically before chuckling myself, "So If we're not increasing my supposed super powers what are we going to be doing?"

"Allow me to explain a bit more about what's happening in gensokyo," she said returning us to our seats before pulling a map out of her story stack of papers, "After Yukari disappeared some of the more powerful youkai realized this and began to move. We have Tenma on youkai mountain, Sanae and her gods on the mountain of faith, former hell which is occupied by quite a few powerful people, Shinki who resides in makai, the celestial up above and these are just too name a few."

"Quite a tall task we have ahead of us then," I frowned looking to all the places on the map she had pointed out. "So how are we supposed to reign them in, can I just go in wave a stick at them and tell them I'm the new boss around here?"

Ran laughed again, a sound I am very much starting to enjoy. "You could try but I doubt it would work, honestly we have a few options. We could have them join us willingly as unlikely as it may be, we can try to offer them something in exchange, or we could just fight them. Not to the death mind you but here we have a system called spell-card battles which are used to settle our problems."

"Well I doubt I'll be winning fights anytime soon and we don't really have anything to offer anyone at the moment so we'll have to have them join us on their own free will I guess. So…" I think to myself as a lightbulb goes off in my head, "We go talk to her Yukari's former supporters right, please tell me she has some."

"She does, in fact that's what I was going to suggest we do first. There are a few people who will probably join us no questions asked but before that." She walks over to me and embraces me in a big hug before I can even respond.

"Thank you," she says her voice tickling my ear, that and the softness of her body pushed on mine combined to prove very … distracting to my train of thoughts as I tentatively hugged her back.

Ran released me from the hug before taking a step back and giving me another smile. She turned around and I could see another portal, boundary?, open up in front of her.

"Lucky for us Yukari left up some permanent gaps around the area to get around with so are you ready?" She asked extending out her hands toward me.

"Ready as I'll ever be I guess,"I replied before taking her hand as we stepped through the portal.

* * *

Upon arrival the world was spinning so badly I'm sure that if Ran hadn't been holding onto my hand I'd be on the floor by now. As it was I was barely standing with her support as I tried to straighten out my vision.

"Don't worry it always feels like that the first time I'm sure you'll get used to it." She grinned mischievously.

"Thanks, though maybe next time a warning would be nice before we jump in the cosmic washing machine." I groaned out before taking a look around to gather my bearings.

The first thing to catch my attention is the shrine directly in front of us. Calling it dilapidated would be going too far but obviously it's seen better days. The roof seems to be missing a few planks and you can tell the walls are pretty worn. Surprisingly though it still manages to be quite the sight, the cherry trees in the background subtly dancing in the wind behind it give it a sense of natural beauty you'd be hard pressed to find in my world these days.

I wonder if I'll ever go back, I accepted this job without really putting a lot of thoughts into my action. Did I want to go back, I never amounted too much over there and I wonder if I ever would have. Sure my friends and family would be sad I'd have to find a way to tell them I'm okay but I doubt anyone over there would need me like the way Ran did over here.

"You're doing it again." Ran put a hand on my shoulder.

"Sorry?" I asked.

"It happened a couple times when we were talking earlier, you just. You get this blank look in your eyes and just kind of stand there?" She said though it sounded more like a statement than a question with her inflection.

"Oh, sorry. I tend to daydream a lot and my thoughts will just kinda wander forever if I let them, sorry." I shook my head free of the errant thoughts. "Let's go. I take it the person we're here to see is inside?"

"Yup one of Yukari's best friends though neither would ever admit to it. She can be a bit of a grump sometimes so watch yourself. I'd say just be yourself but." She gave another mischievous laugh into her palm.

Before I had time to make up a comeback she was already speaking "Reimu I need to speak to you."

I heard a couple of couple of crashing sounds and what sounded like a muffled scream before a voice responded. "Give me a moment."

I could only sweat drop as several more crashes occurred before the figure stepped out.

Her brown hair sleek with sweat clung her to neck, the ribbon that adorned it barely clung too as it was close to coming undone. Her red and white garb hung close to her body leaving very little in the way of imagination on subtle curves of her body. Only after a few moments did I realize I was staring and quickly shifted my view and coughed into my hand.

"What did you need Ran you don't exactly drop by here often even with all that's going down," she turned to take a look in my direction, "And who is the weirdly dressed dude you got with ya."

"I'll have you know I'm not dressed 'weird' this is called style," I suddenly felt the urge to defend myself and my fashion sense for reasons unbeknownst to even myself.

"Right my bad, I'll make sure to remember what not to look like when I wake up in the morning, thanks." She laughed a short crisp thing that was not entirely mocking but certainly not kind.

"I'm not quite sure I can take anyone seriously who dresses like that," I shoot back giving her rather provocative outfit another once over, I mean detached sleeves is that even a thing?

This seemed to get a reaction from her as she gave a slight blush as she looked down at herself. "It's not like I get to choose this is the shrine maiden uniform it's, uhh, important for religious matters."

"Right I'm sure the gods love a bit of eye candy as much as the next guy." I retorted.

"Now, now children." Ran smirked, "If your little petty squabble is over we have some important things to discuss. Reimu may we come in?"

Reimu glared at me one last time before huffing and opening up the door, "Fine come in, mind the mess I was trying to do some repairs before you two came."

Stepping inside it was clear that it suffered the same problems the outside did. The room we stepped into was sparsely furnished, a small table with a few cushions occupied the middle while there was a few small cabinets and such that lined the rest of the room with various items placed upon them. The floors themselves creaked lightly as we stepped over to table. We watched as Reimu stepped into another room busying herself in what I assume is the kitchen.

"So what's up Ran?" She called out completely ignoring my existence, "It must be pretty important if you made your way all the way over here. Tea?"

"Thank you, please." Ran accepted the offer tea and once again no offer was extended to me. "And to your question, a matter of great importance has in fact come up."

"Oh," Reimu walked back in carrying a tray of exactly two cups of tea much to my dismay, "It about Mr. Obnoxious over there?"

"His name is Lawrence, Reimu and I would be pleased if you if you showed a bit more respect to my master from now on." Ran delivered in a deadpan voice that would have got me if I didn't notice the small tugging on the corner of her lips.

Reimu however did not seem to notice and mouth was hanging agape looking back between the two of us repeatedly before settling on me. Her stare turned from taken back to inquisitive as she examined me.

"He sure doesn't look like much, exactly how is he supposed to take over for Yukari?" her tone this time was less accusatory and more concerned.

"He may not look like much be has the talent for it, though I'll admit he's definitely got his fair share of problems we need to sort out." Ran replied.

Being tired of left out of the conversation I decided this was my time to jump in. "So Reimu I heard you're quite the supporter of Yukari."

She gave a slight shrug in response. "Hard not to be, it's a Hakurei's job to oversee the barrier that acts as the entrance to Gensokyo. Honestly that old hag was a pain and seriously incompetent at the best of times and a down right terror at worse. Hell I didn't even know she existed for half my life."

"I see." I gave Ran a questioning glance to which we just shrugged.

"Well I'm hoping to be somewhat more competent and for that I really need your help. Would you mind explaining the barrier to me?" I reached over to steal Ran's cup to take a drink, receiving a snort and playful glare in response.

"Not much too it, keeps the outside world where your from and Gensokyo cut off from each other. Makes sure it's not too easy to get in or out though that's no to say it's impossible plenty of people arrive or move here. Stupid youkai kicking a fuss up every time they arrive I swear to god." The last part of her sentence fading to a mumble I had to strain myself to here.

"Okay," I looked at Ran for confirmation to which she nodded, "It seems like we'll be needing to work together so."

I got up from the floor and kneeled in front of her which seemed to have her quite flustered.

"I apologize for my earlier actions and hope that I can make it up to you in some way." I said with my head lowered completely to the floor.

I waited for a whole minute before I started to wonder if something was up. Peeking up I saw Reimu and Ran whispering conspiratorially to one another. I shivered slightly as I patiently I awaited my oncoming doom at the hands of my own partner and the snippy Shrine maiden.

You know maybe I could run, screw the job just go find a small place to settle down in. I could build a house maybe have some neighbors, see all the cool fantasy stuff that this world contains. Maybe I meet a nice girl, live to old age with cute grandchildren that sounds a lot better than having to put up with this.

Before I could put my genius plan into action Ran started speeding again.

"I think we have come to an agreement, Reimu if you would." Ran gestured for her to speak to which she grinned in an absolutely malevolent way.

"I'm going to teach you about spell card duels," I felt like my death sentence had just been announced even though I wasn't sure why, "I hope you're ready."

Dear Gensokyo what did I do to deserve this.

* * *

 ** _AN: So I've always wanted to write a touhou fanfic and here is the start. My first foray into film started here and since then I've read many a great stories here one of my favorites being keys to the heart which was a pretty big inspiration for this. I'm not exactly confident in my writing skills as I'm sure there's plenty of mistakes in there but I'll try to work on it and I hope you guys enjoyed it._**


	2. Chapter 2

_Chapter 2: Seeing Stars_

"Alright let's start with basics," Reimu spread her arms creating glowing red seals as they went, "These are danmaku and they make up the basics of the spell card system."

It was a mesmerizing sight to watch as Reimu continued to produce wave after wave of the seals as she manipulated them around her in an oscillating pattern that was both beautiful and terrifying. The cards pulsed in and out creating complex patterns in their orbit around her, concealing her for brief seconds before bursting open and revealing her once again. When I had heard about spell card duels I had imagined something more primitive, violent even but this was beyond that.

This was art.

"Spell card duels aren't about just pummeling your opponent with brute force. It's about how beautiful your victory it is. After all," she puffed out her chest a smile on her face, "I created this system so that even humans could stand a chance against youkai in a fight. Not to mention Youkai still get to cause a little bit of trouble. Plus no one gets hurt this way and things get to be resolved more peacefully."

The slightly forlorn smile graced her face which tugged on my heartstrings for some strange reason. Reimu was really incredibly smart and if I want to succeed in my task it's pretty clear that having her help would probably be necessary.

Welp might as well try to play it up as much as possible, everyone loves being complimented on their work after all. "That's amazing. Really the whole system is ingenious." and really it was, if only back at my place we could have had something like this to settle conflicts things may have been a lot better.

I paused briefly so that I could really look her in the eyes to get my feeling across. Her eyes were a deep brownish red not unlike ripened chestnuts on a midsummer eve. There was a certain warmth that lie in them that belied her slightly cold standoffish demeanour. Her smile slowly into an inquisitive look as I realized it may have been quite lengthy on my part.

"Sorry I just wanted to say that I think what did you here is unbelievably impressive. I hope that we can get along in the future, having someone with your outlook and creativity would be an incredible boon." I gave her a small smile while rubbing the back of my head in a bit of embarrassment. Perhaps I'd been laying it on a little thick but I really needed all the help I can get and our initial meeting had probably not gone as best it could.

Apparently I wasn't the only one embarrassed as Reimu seemed at a loss for words, a bit of color in her rosy cheeks as she averted her gaze to the ground while lightly clutching her arm.

"Wonderfully said my Master," Ran smiled from the deck as she gazed on both of us in our self induced awkwardness. "Perhaps we should move onto explaining the spell cards themselves now?"

"O-of course," Reimu stammered out before taking a breath, schooling her features into a more passive mien.

Reimu reached into her sleeve pulling out a few cards that I couldn't quite make out at the distance we were apart.

"These are called spell cards they're pretty much the way most duels are decided. Each card starts with an announcement of the name followed by whatever pattern of danmaku you have set to the card. The card then starts running down a timer until the card either expires or it's broken through sufficient damage to it's caster. The key to dealing with cards is discovering the patterns and blind-spots while sneaking in some damage of your own. Most duels will end when all of your cards are broken but there can be some exceptions." She explained thoroughly while throwing one of the cards at me so that I could examine it.

"I think I understand for the most part. Some parts are still a bit confusing but I'm sure I'll get the hang of it. I've got on authority that I'll get it down if I fail a few times first." I grinned twirling the spell card Reimu had given me in my hands before throwing it back at her.

"So you wanna show me one?" I asked Reimu hoping to get a better feel for the cards through some actual experience.

The grin she gave me in response told me that I had probably bit off more than I could chew.

" **~Spirit Sign Fantasy Seal~"**

The sudden onslaught of card shaped bullets caught me off guard as they rushed at me faster than I could have imagined. The first wave fast approaching left me precious little time to think as instincts, that I wasn't aware I possessed, kicked in allowing me to sneak into a small gap between the bullets as I twisted my body sideways to dodge the incoming projectiles. Even with my surprisingly successful acrobatics I still felt their bite as a few skimmed my person. Before I could feel any relief at my somewhat successful dodge the second wave was already upon me forcing me to duck as the cards sailed over head. Only to have another set barrel directly into me knocking me down and leaving me out of breath.

Alright Lawrence come on you can do this just get back on your feet and don't panic.

Propping myself up I could see the next wave of cards approaching fast in a straight line. I tried my best to leap to the side thankfully putting me just out of range of the incoming threat. Or so I thought as suddenly the cards split apart into a circle, It's increased range putting me directly into their oncoming path.

With nowhere left to move I held my hands in front of my face as I braced myself for Impact.

After a couple seconds of nothing happening I opened my eyes to see a dark gap opened in front of me pulsing lightly as it floated in front of me. Red and purple eyes gazed unnervingly from the newly created space sent a shiver down my spine

I wasn't the only one who seemed surprised as Reimu was cycling between shock and disbelief while Ran's eyes were slightly wide as she gave me a contemplative look.

"Well that went better than expected," I turned to Ran regaining some confidence in the display, "I didn't even need to fail once."

Ran gave me a look that seemed to be a cross between a glare and a giant smile that only made feel even better about my accomplishment.

Now if only I had any idea how I managed to do that.

"Alright not bad I admit," Reimu said pulling another card from her sleeve, "Let's see how you fair against something a little bit more difficult."

" **~Dream Sign Evil Sealing Circle~"**

Red seals once again gathered around her before multiply into small fan shaped patterns. Easy enough, I was starting to get a better feel for how to navigate my way through the bullets as I weaved my way into through the gaps created by two of the overlapping streams. The second wave started to form around her as I prepared to find the same gap that I had spotted in the previous iteration.

All hell broke loose when on top of the seals small white bullets started to gather in a as well, rotating between the seals. Kicking off from where I started, I propelled myself backward in order to buy myself some time to analyze the wave of bullets. I failed to locate any and took a few painful grazes as some of the smaller bullets made contact with my skin and sending me to the ground once again. I pulled myself fast to my feet hearing the next wave of cards in creation.

Alright come on, one more time weird portal thingies do your magic. I stood concentrating on trying to will one into existence before all the very painful looking bullets managed to reach me.

Counter to my expectations instead of a portal, stars started raining from the sky, falling upon the seals and orbs like a meteor shower. It was mesmerizing seeing the two different forces in concert pushing against each other before the stars won out, destroying the danmaku in their path.

"Why didn't you tell me there was a fight going on, da ze." A black and white dressed girl with what I only guess was a witches hat, due to the broom she was floating on, floated in the air behind me. "Allow me to take care of this punk!"

"Marisa, wait!" I saw the Miko call out in a panic, that seemed like some pretty dangerous foreshadowing. I tried to turn around completely to hold my hands in surrender only to be met with two words I'll probably never forget during my stay here.

"Master Spark!"

And then the world went black.

* * *

Awakening from my slumber was a task that turned out to be quite the arduous ordeal. Every single muscle in my body felt as if I had just taken them through a marathon, twice. The pounding headache that struck like thunder certainly didn't help as I tried my best to seek my bearings through the great discomfort. My tossing was met with a reassuring hand that found its way to mine.

"How are you doing master?" I found my new servant kneeling beside me, hand place firmly atop my own. Her face was one of annoyance I think, as she alternated between me and looking at the door.

"I'm alright, I think. Ughh, what the hell is a master spark and why do I feel like I was just hit by a bus, loaded into an ambulance, and then hit by another bus." I groaned, propping myself up before fighting another wave of nausea and quickly regretting my actions.

"One of Marisa's more powerful spellcards unfortunately, it can pack quite the punch. Trust me I know from experience." Giving a tiny laugh she motioned to help me stand up, which was very much appreciated. "Now come, lets see if she's still being lectured.

Being guided outside the room by Ran, we returned to the same living room we had been in previously but with an additional guest this time around.

Said guest's head was currently being held to the floor by Reimu as she yelled at her for always firing first and asking questions later. Said lecture was met with a litany of apologies as the witch didn't seem to fight back from her position on the floor.

Noticing us enter the room, Reimu relented. She let Marisa up from the floor before elbowing her side and pointing at me.

Getting a better look at her now she really did go all in on the witch look. Her black dress came to rest right above her knees with a white apron layered over top it. For her top she also had on what I describe as a cross between a vest and a shirt buttoned down on both sides. To top it off she had long golden locks, partially concealed by her wide brimmed black hat, that was braided on one side and hung gently off her shoulder. Her eyes a rather interesting shade of gold that tied together her charming look.

"Eh he, sorry about the whole blasting you earlier. My bad." she awakened me from my thoughts with an apology. Not quite sincere but she at least looked she had the good nature to be slightly embarrassed about the whole incident.

Honestly speaking I wasn't particularly mad, after all someone who could shoot giant freaking laser beams could prove to be very useful in the future.

"I don't know, that was quite painful you know. Tell you what, you agree to do me a favor and we'll call it even." Both the Miko and fox gave me odd looks most likely questioning my motives, but I ignored them for the time being.

Marisa seemed to be a bit reluctant as her face adopted a slight frown. "What kind of favor?"

"Nothing too crazy, I just want you to help me conquer all of Gensokyo." I delivered in deadpan, doing my best to school my face as neutrally as possible. Images in mind of me flying in the air with her and raining laser beams down on my foes certainly made it awfully difficult.

My request was met with raucous laughter as she doubled over clutching her sides.

The response was not shared among the other two present in the room. Reimu had a look of bewilderment on her face that probably spoke volumes about her long standing relationship with the witch. Ran on the other hand had an inquisitive look on her face, no doubt judging my hastily made decision as she simply shrugged and resumed her passive stance besides me.

"Haha, good one fancy pants," I grimaced at my newly acquired nickname but said nothing and continued my stony stare. "Wait… are you being serious?"

"Quite," Ran stepped in to answer before I could get a word in. Which was honestly fine since I'm sure she was better than me at this sorta stuff. "Master Lawrence is to be the new caretaker of gensokyo and as such it his prerogative to gather powerful allies under him. His … choice of allies, strange as they may be, will be fully backed by me."

"Holy shit," she spared another glance at me before her face lit up in a huge smile,"Marisa Kirisame, ordinary magician at your service. I have only two questions, what do I get get to blow up, and how much am I being paid, ze~!"

Uh-oh payment, that was probably something I should have considered beforehand. I hopelessly looked Ran for help.

"Ran sighed and shook her head, "I'll see about acquiring some payment in lieu of your services, until then just consider yourself on retainer."

"Did you hear that Reimu, I'm now a paid destructive consultant. Your girl is moving on up in the world." she grinned at Reimu who could only sigh in response.

"Well, I guess you're my boss now Lawrence, just point me at your enemies and I'll kick their butt, ze~!" she laughed, forcibly grabbing my and shaking it with gusto. Which only served to make my headache from earlier worse.

"It'll be wonderful I'm sure." and I meant it Marisa seemed like the easy going type and I didn't imagine I'd have a hard time getting along with her. She had a very personable air about her that seemed to make it awfully difficult to be bothered by her. Maybe there was more to her than a penchant for explosions and laid back attitude.

"Awesome~!, let's celebrate with some drinks. Where's Suika I'm sure she has some saki she could give us?" The self proposed witch looked out over the veranda searching for whom I could only guess was this Suika fellow.

"She's keeping the celestials up above distracted," Reimu sighed which I noticed to be a running them from her. "Also it's the middle of the day if we're drinking anything it's gonna be tea. I'll go get some I guess."

"Hey I would like a glass this time please." I yelled after her which only met by a shrug in response. Damn shrine maiden I thought she'd be more affable towards me but looks light we still weren't quite there yet.

I made to take a seat at the table from where we sitting earlier with Ran doing the same to my side, quickly followed by marisa also popping herself down before staring quite intently at me.

"So Lawrence, obviously ya not from around these parts. Outsider I take it? What made you wanna get wrapped up in this mess that's been a brewing lately?" she questioned a little more seriously than before.

I pondered over the subject for a bit. I don't think telling her, or anyone for that matter, the full truth would be such a good idea. I didn't necessarily want to completely lie either though, hmm.

"I'm a really big fan of fox ears, so when Ran requested my help how could I say no" There we go, technically the truth and far away from the real truth.

This response only seemed to absolutely delight the magician as she once again fell over with laughter at the thought. Ran could only nod and sigh, after all she already knew about my proclivities from the information Yukari had gathered about me.

"I see, ~ze." Marisa breathed deeply dispelling the fit of laughter, "Pretty girl asks for help and you couldn't help yourself. Not like I don't get it though, good for you."

"My master's tastes aside, I believe he would have accepted the job regardless of my personal features," she turned to the side and smiled at me.

Ran I get what you're trying to do here, making me out to be this heroic guy but I don't know if that's actually true you know. All well I guess that's what we're going with better play along.

"Whatever, thanks Ran" I mumbled to the side pretending to be embarrassed for being called out on my supposed good nature. Marisa just nodded along happily watching our little skit play out.

"Here," Reimu returned from the kitchen at that moment and handed out tea to everyone, which thankfully included me.

"To saving Gensokyo," I toasted my tea glass in the air, feeling emboldened by the two new allies that sat with us.

The reactions were varied but in the end they all responded in kind.

" **To Saving Gensokyo"**

* * *

 _Gonna start updating all my stories again after a long break. Anyways here everyone is._


	3. Chapter 3

_Chapter 3:Operation Start!_

"I call together the first meeting of team Gensokyo, first on the agenda is to figure out what our plans are moving forward. Ran if you would." I said passing the buck to my shikigami.

"Yes master, I'm sure I don't need to impress on you two how chaotic things have been since Yukari's disappearance approximately 47 days ago. However For Master's sake allow me to reiterate recent events so that we all have a solid grasp of the situation." Ran coughed clearing her throat and taking a sip of Reimu's tea before beginning her lecture.

"In wake of Yukari's absence, relationships have begun to sour as there is no longer a threat of an overseer to keep them in line. This has led to several fights and a severe increase of tension between several of the more powerful groups that inhabit Gensokyo. I predict that within the next two weeks we will start to see movement from the top factions in order to seize control of the land. As you know most conflicts since Reimu's inventions of spellcards have been solved non-violently however I worry that things may soon start to play out differently. Our goal here is to bring as many people under our influence as possible so that we may quell the coming conflict before anyone can get hurt. For this I've taken the time to prepare some brief profiles on various groups of interest in effort to aid in recruitment." Ran said finishing up her explanation.

While I had heard most of this the first time Ran had explained the situation to me it still helped me to gather my thoughts to get a better understanding of just how much trouble Gensokyo was in. Plus the profiles were nice considering I didn't know almost anything about the places and people here.

"Thank you Ran, I'll go ahead and pose the question we need answered then. Who do we think we could bring to our side?." I said looking towards the witch and miko while flipping through various files to get a better idea of what was going on.

"Ehh," Reimu drawled. "To be honest the only person besides Marisa who even stops by anymore is Suika and since she's keeping the celestials and Tenshi distracted I can't really think of anyone else. What about you Marisa."

"Alice, maybe. I haven't heard much from her lately," Marisa said throwing her file toward me as I looked over it, "She's a real smart cookie that one, I could probably get her to help if I return some of her things."

I raised my eyebrow at that one.

Reimu gave a heavy sigh, "Marisa steals people stuff all the time."

"It's not stealing, I'm just borrowing. They can have their stuff back when I'm dead. Ze~" she said sticking her tongue out at Reimu causing me to chuckle.

Also note to self, remember that you have apparently got a master thief under your retinue.

"Alright I'll put her in the maybe pile," I said assigning said file a place on the table before looking at the massive amount still left. "Okay maybe we should put aside all the no goes first. Might make this go faster."

"I believe we should rule out most of Youkai mountain," Ran spoke up, "Most answer only to lord Tenma and he was notoriously difficult to deal with even when Yukari was still around."

"Alright," I said tossing a few of the files into the no pile. "Next."

"Scarlet Devil Mansion is right out then, I have no doubt Remilia is scheming something over there. If for no other reason then she finds it entertaining." Reimu huffed tossing another file in the pile.

"Hehe, Moriya Temple is out. No way Reimu can get along that girl over there. Probs cause she has a bigger chest but don't let Reimu know I said that." Marisa leaned into my side loudly whispering.

"I'm sitting right here you idiot," Reimu huffed, "but I do agree."

I raised my eyebrow at her.

Realizing she had basically accidentally admitted what the witch said was true she ground her teeth together. "There will be recompense Marisa."

Said Miko raised her fist at the blonde hair girl who cringed back a bit pulling at her vest nervously.

I shook my head at their antics before happening on a specific file.

"What about this one," I said leafing through one that I found of particular interest, "The human village seems like it may be a start. This Hieda seems like she could really help us a lot, a recording of the history of Gensokyo might help us unravel some conflicts, no?"

"Nah Keine Kamishawatever did something and it seems like no one can get in, trust me I tried and there are very things that can keep me out." I noticed the witch did not seem particularly happy about that fact. Guess she felt it called into question her ability of the good old crime, breaking and entering.

"I believe Kamishirasawa's ability to devour history may put the human village out of reach for us." Ran nodded.

"Wait, what do you mean devour history? That sounds pretty terrifying actually." I asked.

"She's a powerful youkai for sure, though it's not quite what it sounds like. Basically her ability allows her to conceal history from outside view. It appears she is using this facet of her power to prevent people from entering the human village. I imagine the goal of such actions is to prevent the humans inside from being harmed from the current situation." Ran offered me a full explanation that assuaged my worries a bit but still left me pretty damn impressed of the scope of such an ability.

Damn and that seemed like such a good idea too, not willing to let the idea slide quite yet I tried another line of questioning.

"Hmm, what about her friends maybe someone could convince her to take down the barrier and let us in?" I said looking through people listed under Keine's relationships, which led to someone very interesting.

"It's gotta be her." I said flipping through a few more files on the table before throwing out a specific one in to the middle of the table.

"The phoenix girl huh, not so sure about that one boss. She's got a bit of a 'fiery' temper iffin you know what I mean." Marisa made sure to put air quotes around the word fiery to really put some emphasis into her pun.

"Yeah Lawrence I don't think she would be willing to help us, I mean it's not like she has a bad relation with humans or anything she's just kind of a loner." Reimu agreed with Marisa much to my consternation.

"I don't know I think it could work as long as we are able to spin it in such a way that benefits her as well." Too my surprise Ran actually seemed to be quite keen on this idea.

"Hear me out here," I tried to explain my thoughts properly, "We want to bring the village to our side already right. All we have to do is tell her that we promise to protect the village and by extension Keine, then when she agrees that'll hopefully allow us to get in contact with Keine and have the barrier lowered."

"I suppose it could work," Ran said thoughtfully, "Though I do still believe that it's quite the risky proposition. One misstep from you and at worse you might end up getting yourself killed. As you your shikigami It's my duty to make sure that does not come to pass. Not to mention the waste of effort that went into recruiting you."

The playful smile on Ran's face belied the rather biting comment however and left me feeling reassured of my commitment.

"Alright then here's what we'll do," I declared turning towards Marisa and Reimu, "You two will be responsible for bringing alice into our folds. While me and Ran will go visit Mokou and attempt to enlist both her and Keine into the group."

"Aye, aye Captain!" Marisa shouted with glee though it quickly melted into a frown, "Wait a minute that means I'm going to have give back her stuff though…"

"Come on idiot," Reimu huffed slapping the witch over the back of her head with what appeared to be a giant fan, "Don't worry Lawrence I'll make sure things go smoothly on our end at least. Though you better be thankful for my help."

"Of course, you've been really helpful since I've got here. I hate to think about what would have happened if I hadn't met the miko who dresses like a pervert." I grinned as I watched her face grow red with anger.

Really I just couldn't help teasing this girl, it was too much fun. Plus it's possible I was till upset about her making fun of my clothes earlier.

"He's kinda right you know. I always wondered why why your outfit showed off so much skin, ze~." Marisa said with a smug grin picking and pulling at parts of the shrine maidens out. Much to her obvious displeasure.

"Like I said, it's for religious purposes!" Reimu yelled while batting away Marisa's grabbing hands before stomping her way out of the shrine.

"He he, good one boss," she said socking me in the shoulder which hurt quite a bit despite her physique, "Well I better go catch up to her before she starts terrorizing Alice in her bad mood, See ya."

I watched as she hopped on her broom and flew after Reimu, both disappearing from view as they headed off to see one of their apparent friends.

"Alright Ran, Shall we." I said looking back over my shoulder to where Ran still sat, elegant as usual.

"There's one more thing I'd like to say before we go." She stared at me with a serious looking mien. "What we're about to do is terribly important and I feel I must issue you this warning. Right now our biggest advantage is that no one outside this group knows we exist yet. Every time we go to recruit someone we risk them not allying with us and going elsewhere. If that happens our situation will become much more dire."

I gulped a bit at that. I hadn't quite fully considered the implications of what would happen if we were to fail here.

"You're correct o-obviously," I said a bit shakily before steadying my resolve. After all this is what I came here to do. "So we just have not to fail."

Ran seemed please with my statement and nodded before standing up and walking over to my side.

"As you say Master, we simply shall not fail in our pursuits. Shall we" Ran smiled that somewhat mischievous smile that I had grown use to.

"Alright let's do this!" I pumped myself up before letting Ran lead the way to our destination.

* * *

During our travels I got to see some of the splendors that Gensokyo had to offer. Wide open lands with nature that had yet to be scarred by human hands, was more beautiful than anything I had ever seen back in my world. While I had already seen most of these sights from when I first met ran. The details from up close added a new level of complexity to the ethereal nature of the lands. The whole thing just felt so otherworldly.

Which I suppose it was.

Eventually we arrived in front a large forest, the trees swaying gently and the sounds of nature piercing from it's depths. It also had a bit more of a .. sinister? Air to it. Slightly at odds with the rest of the natural landscape that I had seen so far in our travels.

"This, is the Bamboo Forest of the Lost. As it name implies the forest itself has a magic about it that makes wanderers get lost in it's depths. There also quite a few youkai located in the forest which brings us to the next stage of your training. Your ability to manipulate boundaries can be applied to almost all facets of reality. I'd like you to use your ability to allow us to path through this forest without being detected. You may practice using me if you wish." Ran explained to me, though I wasn't quite too sure how to even begin.

I focused on the feeling of a few hours ago where I had called upon my powers to create the gap that had prevented me from being injured. I recalled the feeling of fear and anxiousness but none of it seemed to trigger anything within me.

Alright perhaps a different approach would be required for this. I tried to focus on my target, Ran. She stood ramrod straight, arms folded behind her back as watched me intently. It was easy to overlook in the whirlwind that my life had become in the last day but she really was a charming individual. The flicker of her ears underneath the cap that adorned them, the slight sway of her flaxen tails, those beautiful eyes. I channeled my thoughts grasping out to the thing that seemed to hover just beyond my vision and inverted it, then releasing it.

My attempt, while successful in a way, wasn't exactly what I was attempting to do.

"Lawrence." My shikigami said calmly, though there was the barest hint of a growl that rumbled underneath, "I understand that you're still learning, however I will not permit the use of your powers in such a fashion. If you would undo this. Now."

In my attempt to make the fox go unnoticed I seemed to have missed a step, perhaps due to my wavering attention. She was still standing as straight as before, though now I could see her limbs fidget a bit as if fighting off the desire to move.

The reason was probably because she was now standing in nothing but her underwear. It seems as if my attempt to render her unnoticed had somehow managed to equate into her clothes going unnoticed instead.

Not that I was complaining, she really was just too charming.

"Lawrence!" This time the growl in her voice was unmistakable.

"Right," I eeped quickly closing my eyes, grasping onto the feeling I had just let go I slightly adjusted my previous tempering to cover her entire person.

When I opened my eyes there was no longer anyone standing before me. It wasn't quite that I couldn't see her as I knew she was there. It was just, whenever I tried to focus on her my mind would become hazy and my vision would wander way before I could realized it happened.

"Hmm, it seems as if whatever you did has worked though I can't quite tell in what way. Would you mind explaining." My shikigami questioned though it was hard to maintain focus on her words as they seemed to drift away before even entering my ears. Perhaps a consequence of my manipulations.

"Well, it's kinda hard for me to explain. All of this still feels really vague for me but the best way I can sum it up is that I manipulated the boundaries of perception. Instead of trying to modify everyone else's perception I kinda modified your ability to be perceived by others I guess. Which is probably why you don't notice anything changed about yourself." I explained what I did do to her the best I could, though even I didn't really understand it all either.

"Hmm, very clever. It seems Yukari was right in selecting you." she nodded sagely, "However I will you pay back for your previous blunder."

Her mischievous smile left me pretty unsettled not gonna lie. I was not looking forward to how she would extract her revenge on me.

Worth it though.

"Anyways," I coughed quickly changing the subject before reaching to the same boundary I had manipulated earlier and inverted it, this time on myself. "Let's get on with it shall we."

And so began are walk through the Bamboo Forest of the Lost.

It was an almost surreal experience to say the least. As the name suggest I could feel a gentle tug in the back of my head suggesting the way I was on was wrong, or that I had seen the path already before. The only thing that kept me on track was Ran who seemed to have no issue at all and was guiding us without hesitation through the strange forest.

We weren't alone during the trek either, I saw girls with what appeared to be bunny ears on the tops of their head dashing through the forest. There was girl with a long flowing white and red dress, a pair of auburn ears also adorned her head though I could not tell what animal they were taken from, a wolf perhaps? A pink haired girl busied herself behind a stand of some sort, her beautiful humming accompanying the smell of what seemed to be a freshly cooked meal.

Not all the trip was roses though, one particular rabbit gave me the quite the scare on our travels.

She had long flowing purple hair and probably the largest set of ears I had seen so far. While we walking past her gaze settled uncomfortably on me and I had sworn that we had been caught. I stopped still as she scrutinized the space I was standing while her brow crinkled for what felt like an eternity. Finally the rabbit shrugged before heading on her way, a great sigh escaped my lips as the danger passed. Ran beckoned for us to continue and so we continued in our journey. Promises of reaching our destinations soon came from my foxy helper as we strolled through the trees.

The relative peace that accompanied us felt at odds with I had been expecting from the stories I had been told. I expected more … I'm not quite sure really what I had thought would be going on but it certainly wasn't this gentle relaxing atmosphere. Even with spooky and insidious undertones the forest possessed. Honestly everything seemed so, nice, I guess if I had arrived here under different circumstances this would be a very freeing and lovely place to stay.

But alas as things were, looming war, heavy tension, and the threat of death drained most of the positives out of the stroll. Perhaps I had been a bit over my head thinking I could do this, crazy new super powers aside, I didn't exactly fit the bill for this kinda work.

Back in the outside world I was a bit of an introvert, don't get me wrong I had plenty of friends and no one would accuse me of being antisocial. Still I enjoyed the quiet and peaceful times to myself, reading books, watching movies, and taking naps. Yet here I was thrust into a position that guaranteed I'd be dealing with people on a daily basis whether I liked it or not. Maybe I shouldn't have taken this job.

At thought however, unbidden, the image of Ran crying in distress asking for help, entered my mind and reminded me that there were indeed reasons for me to act contrary to my nature.

"Lawrence," Ran repeated, I guess I had missed my name the first time, "we're almost there prepare yourself. I'll be leaving this to you, however if you have need of my assistance simply call for me and I shall arrive."

My mind raced as I prepared myself recalling everything I had read in her file. Mokou Fujiwara, indeterminate age and considered immortal after drinking one Hourai elixir, job is leading humans who get lost in the forests either to Eintei for medical treatment or back to the village, reserved personality but not completely unfriendly, long white hair adorned with red ribbons with similar matching clothes consisting of a white shirt and red overalls of a sort, relationships include being friends with one Keine Kamishirasawa and being mortal enemies with one Kaguya Houraisan.

Overall a lot of information, but not all of it particularly helpful. I was most like going to have to tread very carefully during our first meeting. Hopefully I could manage to navigate myself through this without too many mistakes, otherwise we were in for some major trouble.

Fast approaching a log cabin came into view, a small veranda jutted from the front of the house where I spied the target of today's excursion. Fujiwara sat on the edge of the porch slowly cutting away at some fruits, staring off into the distance as she repeated her task with the next fruit in the basket.

Her description in the file I had received did not quite do her justice. While she was of an androgynous figure she was still pretty cute all things considered. I was actually rather fond of her outfit which a personal style to it that I could really get behind and seemed to suit her perfectly.

Alright, time to do this I guess. I dismissed my hold over the boundaries preventing us from being noticed and stepped openly in the clearing before the house drawing her notice. I walked forth, with as much false confidence I could muster, till I stood before the white haired girl.

A raised eyebrow and an inquisitive look was all I received, it seemed as I would be the one who have to make the first move as she patiently waited before me.

"It's a pleasure to meet your acquaintance Fujiwara no Mokou, my name is Lawrence Ferithen," I paused a bit considering the pros and cons of revealing my newly acquired title before just deciding I'd have to get used to addressing myself as such sooner or later. "Heir to Yukari Yakumo's position of overseer of Gensokyo."

She put down her knife and fruit, lazily eyeing me over taking her sweet time in examining my person before she finally spoke.

"What do you want?" Her tone wasn't combative just, uninterested maybe? Not the best start but not open hostility either. Which was a win in my book.

"Mind if I have a seat, it was quite the walk to get here." she shrugged her shoulders before resuming her previous task of cutting fruit. I dropped myself unceremoniously onto the wood next to her, before stretching out my sore legs and gazing out at the view her veranda offered.

I sat there for a bit, collecting my thoughts as the gentle sounds of the forest and fruit being cut mingled into a rather peaceful lullaby. It was all I could do not to prevent myself from napping right then and there.

After awhile of simply enjoying the ambiance I decided to speak forthright. "I've come to request your aid."

She didn't even bother looking at me as she continued absentmindedly in her task. "Not interested."

I figured as much, I wouldn't have normally wanted to get myself involved in this mess either. Doubtlessly she knew from my introduction that aiding me would result in a lot of headaches for her. Sitting in this lovely place, being able to laze into the day, I could definitely see not wanting to give this up.

Unfortunately I had a task that I had to accomplish here and couldn't afford to give up quite that easily now could I.

"I'm prepared to offer some help in return, specifically regarding Keine Kamishirasawa and the human village," Her temperament quickly chilled if the look she gave me was any indication so I decided to amend my statement a bit. "Though even without your help I still plan on protecting them, your help would however make things much easier."

She calmed a bit at that but not by much as she still regarded me some amount of suspicion.

"What do you mean?" a simple enough question to explain I guess.

"I assume you know of her keeping the village from being entered," I received a nod at that, "While this will work for now I'd imagine their inability to access anything outside means that it's a temporary solution at best. Plus Hieda no Akyuu's books would be a great boon in helping me achieve peace here. So I'm offering to bring them all under my camp and promise to protect them from anyone who would seek to harm them." her gaze seemed to grow even more harsh counter to my expectations however.

"And what makes you think you can protect them, Gensokyo is vast after all. There are a lot of youkai here who don't like humans. Tell me can you always be there to make sure no one gets hurt." She spoke with a bit more emotion than she had before though she still maintained an unreadable poker face despite that.

"And if I said I could?" It wasn't a lie or the truth it was more a question aimed at myself and at her.

"Don't believe you." back to short replies I see.

"How would I go about proving I could then?" I asked leaning to the side to get a good look at her, measuring her reaction.

She gave me another hard stare before nodding for a reason unbeknownst to me.

"Simple, we fight. You win I'll follow along for now, at least as long as everything you've said is true. If I win you leave, and never come back to bother me with this again." she replied getting up and moving to the middle of the clearing before turning to face me.

Well this was a bit outside expectations, Reimu had kicked my ass already and I doubt I could take anyone here. If I wanted to win this I was gonna have measure out the scales a bit.

"Since this is a test of my abilities to protect and not my personal skill you wouldn't mind me bringing in some help would you? After all anyone who works for me would be protecting the village as well." she tilted her head thoughtfully seeming to give my words some thought.

She ended up just shrugging. "Sure."

"Ran, if you would please." before even I was aware of it Ran was already standing slightly behind me.

As usual she stood straight, arms behind her back, and eyes locked forward. Her appearance actually seemed to get quite the reaction out of mokou as her lazy attitude quickly disappeared replaced with a rather intense look of … something? I couldn't quite get a read of what her thoughts were at the moment.

Ran leaned close and whispered in my ears. "Master I think it prudent for you to know that Mokou happens to be one of the more powerful beings in Gensokyo considering her immortality. She's had many years to master all sorts of sorceries. This will not be an easy fight and I fear that I won't be able to fully protect you if our focus is to win."

Oh. Well that's not good.

"We'll win then. Don't worry about me" I whispered with more confidence then I felt for sure. My future at the moment looked awfully grim.

I turned my focus back to Mokou whom, to my surprise, had already conjured fire that swirled around her threateningly. Lifting her hair into a frenzy behind as she took a fighting stance.

"Well let's see what you got, don't blame me if you're a pile of bones when I'm done with you. I won't be holding back after all."

Okay it was official, I'm doomed.

* * *

 ** _Poor Lawrence, died on his first day in Gensokyo press F to pay respects. Anyways I'm going to be alternating between this and Cardinal, my other story. So each story will most likely be updated every other week. Anyways thanks for reading, see you next time._**


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